Flashing yellow traffic lights in Spokane will end earlier

Starting Monday, early-morning drivers in Spokane will see more red. The flashing yellow traffic signals that replace the regular red-yellow-green pattern during low-traffic hours will switch back to the regular pattern at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., the city announced Friday. The change will be instituted because of a rise in early-morning traffic, the city said in a news release. Spokane first began using “programmed flash” at traffic signals in the 1950s.